Georgetown: Melissa Soman who went missing in the Berbice River Wednesday night and was later discovered floating in the vicinity of Gaettroy, Thursday afternoon, died as a result of drowning compounded by blunt trauma to the head, according to an autopsy.
The flesh on her face and right hand appeared to be “eaten away by piranha fish”, police said while her father, Paul Soman believes that his daughter’s face was burnt.
The post mortem examination carried out on the body of 17-year-old Soman of 58 Stanleytown was done by dissection at the Le Repentir Crematorium, Georgetown. It also confirmed that the teenager was pregnant.
Police had arrested Dequan Adams, Soman’s boyfriend, who confessed to investigators that he became irate after he noticed her gyrating on a man at a party in Gaettroy Village, Berbice River.
He told investigators that he then proceeded to assault her and the man who she was seen with tried to intervene but was beaten as well.
Adams said he used a boat paddle and dealt Soman several lashes about her body and head before she plunged overboard to escape his assault; the man who she was seen with also jumped into the river but while he managed to surface the teen disappeared.
Soman, who is also the mother of a 2-year-old, had left her home in Stanleytown a few months ago to live with the suspect who has been identified. Her sister had told the media that Adams appeared to be controlling and her now-dead sister was planning on severing the relationship.
Charges are expected to be laid shortly against Adams.
The funeral is set for Friday. Soman left her family home at 58 Stanleytown, New Amsterdam about three months ago after informing her parents she was going to live with her boyfriend up the Berbice River.
That very day, the body of Melissa Soman was fished out of the river. She was clad in a black and white skirt, peach top and a blue bra.
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